Eight

By a weird coincidence, I went out this morning and bought some Dunlop locks. The screws that come with them are a tad thinner and shorter than the Warwick screws holding the regular strap nobs on... seems secure but there's a lingering doubt in my mind. Still... probably less likely to come out than my previous predicament of the strap coming off all the time. For ref: you can't use the standard Warwick screws because the head is too big to fit into the Dunlop straplock. We should really start a campaign to force guitar and bass manufacturers to standardise their use of screws.

I think you could be right on this one. Just been and had a quick play for a few minutes trying different things... With the way I traditionally hold the plec, all angling of the plectrum has to come from my wrist. Hard to describe but my thumb is essentially locked straight in place (which I' always got away with on guitar but obviously not on bass). Whereas with a few adjustments I start to be able to add/remove angle with the thumb. Definitely getting less scraping by doing that. Not sure yet what's right (or right for me at least) but it's definitely interesting.

[quote name='charic' post='590006' date='Sep 4 2009, 06:38 PM']Are you sure that your holding the pick right? How you rotate the pick as needed and bend your thumb/ fingers you should be ok unless your wrist motion is way off.[/quote] Now that you've said it... I'm not sure. I hold it the way I used to as a kid (playing guitar) - what I tend to call Leopard style (like kung fu). But I could have it wrong... something to double check. Cheers.

I've just come from using Plectro picks (similar to the blue pointed one here, but the "bass" ones are black) Which are quite bendy. Got on ok with them but felt a bit more in control with the harder pick. I don't know really... I should probably go back to using softer plecs (might order some of those Aliens that you suggested) rather than fight this. Edit: Forgot to say, , Ja, bang on about not being a jazzer.

Hmm... maybe a visit to Screwfix would be a better option. I never deliberately take the strap off my basses.

I'm more of a fingers guy really.. but I've been doing a fair bit of plec playing recently. Just switched to a heavier pick but *it* makes horrible scraping noises when I pluck a string. Obviously there's something wrong with my technique i.e. striking the string at the wrong angle... but I can't quite see what I'm doing wrong. Short of twisting my picking hand uncomfortably to ensure the plec makes contact in a perpendicular motion, I can't figure out what's up. I thought I'd fixed these issues a while ago but the heavier plec reveals otherwise. Are there any common causes for this that I can look into?

Can you just use the original screws or are they likely to not fit the locks?

For the last time, my pesky Vampyre has tried to escape playing some cheesy pop song by letting go of the strap. Luckily I've managed to catch it each time. Was just trying to decide whether to buy some Warwick strap locks online, or nip down to a local guitar emporium tomorrow where they sell some Schallers, but I stumbled across fragments of info that suggest there *may* be an issue with these strap locks on Warwick basses??? Something to do with the screws??? Anyone know the full story here?

[quote name='velvetkevorkian' post='589551' date='Sep 4 2009, 11:58 AM']You would have a lot of redundant features- the preamp would do the same sort of thing as the EQ/preamp section on your amp.[/quote] Cheers mate. So I'll just keep them in the back of my mind incase I ever go into a PA. Although the amp head has a post-EQ DI out anyway...

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='589218' date='Sep 3 2009, 09:53 PM']Mr Sixx is clearly a total dweeb.[/quote] Whilst I agree with the nail thing... I think calling Nikki Sixx is the modern day equivalent of blasphemy. Next you'll be insulting Blackie Lawless and we'll have to fight.

[quote name='iamapirate' post='588945' date='Sep 3 2009, 06:29 PM']If it really was as powerful as it implies (which it aint as it's not RMS) then they wouldn't need to boast about it... like apple.[/quote] And if they stuck a fruit logo on and made it out of white plastic, it'd sell millions.

Some music channel just happened to play "Sick Love Song" which has a few half decent shots of him using that thing... looks even weirder and even less comfortable now that I see it in use.

Could have done with this a month ago - took me ages to figure out I didn't need a power supply for the Compact. Yes I am a moron.

Just try it, and get it if you like it. Aside from anything else, noone pays enough attention to the bass player to care if your guitar looks "too metal". I like the Warlock body shape very much - not a big fan of BCR's other offerings but hey...

My amp head has separate inputs for active/passes basses, and I also usually run through a fuzz and a limiter; are we saying I'd get nothing from adding a pre-amp? I'm just not really sure what they're for.

I was thinking along the lines of Burp there... cheers Clarky for coming up with the official answer. Truth is stranger than fiction sometimes... I like the look of the Blackbird, and Sixx's theory of not needing any pots appeals to me. Shame that I just can't get used to the shape of T-bird headstocks. And I'd want that Optigrab thingy removed... unless I could think of something better to use it for. Jean-Luc - Syringes!?! Lol.

Just browsing Ishibashi, which I casually do every few days out of interest, and I came across a Nikki Sixx Blackbird and then noticed something... What is that thing near the bridge? Looks like some kind of plastic loop... no idea what it's for.

[quote name='EdwardHimself' post='587519' date='Sep 2 2009, 02:30 PM']Auditionees or bands?[/quote] Both really. [quote]Because yeah if it's the former i see what you mean, there was a bloke who replied to another band's blog who were looking for a drummer (in hull) and he's just like "oh yeah i'm 18 i play drums but i live in doncaster i don't have a car though so would you guys mind coming down here to jam?" [/quote] Hahahahahahahaha. That sounds about right.

Hell of a lot of time wasters up here in the North East mate.

Thanks for posting. I really want to try some full scale semi-hollow/chambered basses at the minute and this Epiphone looks very interesting.

Thanks for the kind words guys. It's very very rare that I stop and give myself any credit for things - especially music related. No rest for the wicked though I think I needed a bit of reassurance that my playing was heading in the right direction, and now I feel more enthused to keep working. [quote name='CHRISDABASS' post='584920' date='Aug 30 2009, 07:13 AM']i personally love that bassline! in fact im off to dig out that BGM issue and have a go myself[/quote] It is a great line - really funky without being unnecessarily flash.

I'm sure there was a similar thread (or series of posts) but can't find it. Anyway, I have to post this because I'm feeling chuffed. In December I bought my first bass... and in January I bought my first BGM. In said magazine there was a transcription for Murder On The Dancefloor (which for some reason is a song I really like). I tried briefly but couldn't get anywhere with it. Today I saw the video on TV and thought "what the hell, let's give it another go"... and I can bloody play it. Perhaps not perfectly... and it took a few goes to get it up to 120bpm but hey. Ok so it's not the hardest bass line ever, but I'm seriously happy because it's a clear indication of progress; and I just had to tell somebody.

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='583026' date='Aug 27 2009, 10:54 PM']I love daisyrocks - I bought one of these for myself after my daughter refused to let me borrow hers - I was surprised to win it after placing a lowball bid though. [/quote] Here's what I don't get... I'm a straight man who only wears black, likes skulls, ravens, pointy things etc. etc. So why do I love that DaisyRocks gear so much?!?!! Haven't had the balls (or lack of, so to speak) to buy any yet but I fear it's a matter of time. My first bass was pink though. Just because it was the cheapest on the bay and I figured I'd be bored of playing within a month.

Not the prettiest, but I keep looking at this every few weeks, Want one!

I'd like a bass with a mobile/laptop style battery + charger. i.e. You can plug it in to the mains to charge rather than have to change/buy those square things. Contemplated trying to do a mod for this myself actually. Probably wouldn't be too hard.